The UFC today announced in a written statement posted on UFC.com that lightweight fighter Thiago Tavares has been suspended for nine months after he tested positive for steroids following his recent UFC on FX 7 bout against Khabib Nurmagomedov. Obviously the steroids didn’t help Tavares as he was KOed in brutal fashion by the young Russian Nurmagomedov in the first round, and after fighting only once in 2012 he’ll have to wait another lengthy period of time to step into the cage again because of this bad choice he made.

As well, the UFC said that Vitor Belfort has a therapeutic use exemption for testosterone replacement therapy, but that he did not use steroids or any other PED as has been rumored. Belfort knocked out Michael Bisping at UFC on FX 7 and recently called out UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, although UFC president Dana White hinted that Luke Rockhold may be his next opponent.

Barnett Will Not Sign With UFC

According to Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com, Josh Barnett and his manager have turned down the UFC’s latest contract offer after an undisclosed sticking point caused them to walk away from the deal. Barnett, the former UFC heavyweight champion, is one of the top 10 heavyweights in the world but if he’s not in the UFC he won’t be able to prove that, so this is just disappointing news all the way around.

Bellator Announces Curran vs. Straus

Bellator MMA today announced that their featherweight champion Pat Curran will next defend his title against Daniel Straus at Bellator 95, which takes place April 4 in New Jersey. Curran most recently defeated Patricio “Pibtull” Freire via split decision and will definitely have some momentum coming into this bout, but Straus, a very big featherweight, can’t be counted out of this fight. The MMA Fighter Rankings currently have Curran at No. 4 in the world, while Straus sits at No. 8.